Wadis in Oman: Hiking, Climbing & Swimming
- Melanie
- Jan 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 21
Impressions & tips for your visit to the wadis
by Melanie
Here you can find a little more detailed information about the three wadis we visited in Oman.
The Wadi Dhum, Wadi Hawer and Wadi Al Arbeieen
Table of contents
Packing list
Drybag: 15L is enough for one person to store shoes, towel and dry clothes
Sturdy shoes
Water shoes that allow you to climb over rocks and swim
Go-Pro or waterproof case for your phone so you can take photos in the water.
Enough drinking water
Swimwear including a t-shirt and shorts that you can also wear for swimming
Towel
Wadi Dhum
We visited Wadi Dhum from Nizwa and it was our first wadi. In retrospect, it was very good practice for the following wadis. If you are an experienced climber or have already visited other wadis, you don't necessarily have to visit this wadi.
But we really enjoyed it there, especially because there were very few tourists. It is very quiet and idyllic.
Wadi Hawer
Wadi Hawer was one of the highlights of our entire trip. We skipped all the touristy wadis like Wadi Bani Khalid and Wadi Shab and opted for the lesser known ones.
When we arrived in Wadi Hawer, we wanted to go alone. We had been given some information before about where the entrance was and that we have to climb quite a bit. A guide was waiting right at the "entrance" and offered us his help. At first we declined and set off on our own. But after a few minutes we couldn't see a proper path anymore and decided to go with the guide.
He wanted 15 OMR for it, which was totally fine, since we probably wouldn't have been able to do it alone or it would have taken us much longer.
We only met six other people in this wadi in 3 hours of hiking, climbing and swimming - all with guides! It was so quiet and lonely.
Since we sometimes had to swim through the pools, our dry bag was very helpful. But the guide helped here too, he climbed over the rocks with the backpack while we swam. Others also left their bags in front of the pools.
We were equipped to wear swimwear and could have gone swimming in a t-shirt, as is the Omani culture. But since there were so few people there, the guide told us that only swimwear was OK. Please follow these rules.
We didn't walk to the "end" of the wadi, only to a small cave. After that, the only way to continue is by abseiling, for which we were not equipped. But if you book the tour in advance, all of this is possible. I can highly recommend our guide Salim. You can find him at: Salim Al Rashidi
Wadi Al Arbeieen
Our last visit was to Wadi Al Arbeieen. This is also very beautiful and quite challenging - comparable to Wadi Hawer. However, in direct comparison, we liked Wadi Hawer better because the pools were larger.
The drive there is very lonely and you drive into the mountains. I would definitely recommend a four-wheel drive here. We drove without, but I wouldn't get very far with a "normal car". The locals also park their "good cars" a few kilometers from the village and drive on in rather poor cars.
The starting point of the hike is a bit difficult to find:
You have to go down to the right before the river, then cross the river, climb over a few stones and then turn right towards the palm trees and the associated irrigation system.
You can walk along these chanals. It is the quickest way to get deep into the wadi.
At some point the canal ends and you have to climb. It's similar to Wadi Hawer. If you swim through the pools, you have to climb less. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the big waterfall, so we can't say what it looks like. Here you can find a few impressions:
Recommendation
We really liked all three wadis. But Wadi Hawer was our highlight.
In fact, next time I would do Wadi Shab instead of Wadi al Arbeein and just get there very early.
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
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